## Facts

- “Prosciutto di Parma” was registered in the European Union as a protected designation of origin (PDO) under Regulation 2081/92.
- The PDO specification (as approved through EU measures) included a condition that Parma ham marketed in pre-sliced, pre-packaged form must be sliced and packaged within the defined production region in Italy.
- Hygrade Foods imported authentic Parma hams into the United Kingdom, then deboned, sliced, and packaged them in Corsham (Wiltshire).
- The sliced packages were sold by Asda as “Parma ham,” and at least some packaging did not bear the PDO control marking.
- The Parma Ham Consortium and an Italian producer sought to stop Asda and Hygrade from using the PDO name for ham sliced and packaged outside the production region.
- The House of Lords referred questions to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for a preliminary ruling on the interpretation and effects of EU law governing PDOs and free movement of goods.

## Issues

1. Whether EU PDO law permits conditioning use of a PDO on slicing and packaging occurring in the region of production when the specification imposes that condition.
2. Whether a regional slicing/packaging condition is a measure equivalent to a quantitative restriction on exports and, if so, whether it can be justified to protect the PDO’s reputation and quality.
3. Whether the condition could be enforced against operators in another Member State when it was not sufficiently publicized in EU legislation, raising legal certainty concerns.

## Decision

- The ECJ held that Regulation 2081/92 did not bar a PDO specification from requiring slicing and packaging to occur in the region of production.
- The ECJ held that the regional slicing/packaging requirement constituted a measure having equivalent effect to a quantitative restriction on exports under Article 29 EC.
- The ECJ held that such a restriction could be justified under Article 30 EC to protect industrial and commercial property, including the PDO and its collective reputation, if necessary and proportionate.
- The ECJ held that the specific slicing/packaging condition could not be relied on against Asda and Hygrade because it had not been given adequate publicity in EU legislation, so operators lacked clear notice of the obligation.

## Legal Principles

- EU PDO law permits product specifications to include processing and preparation conditions, including regional slicing and packaging requirements, when aimed at safeguarding quality and origin-linked characteristics.
- A PDO-linked regional processing requirement may restrict trade and can qualify as an export-restrictive measure, but may be justified to protect the PDO as industrial and commercial property if proportionate.
- Obligations enforceable against economic operators must be accessible, clear, and foreseeable from published EU measures; insufficient EU-level publicity can prevent reliance on otherwise valid PDO conditions.

## Conclusion

The ECJ recognized that a PDO may, in principle, require slicing and packaging within the production region to protect quality and reputation and that such a restriction can be justified despite free-movement limits; however, the condition was unenforceable against UK traders because it was not adequately publicized in EU legislation, violating legal certainty requirements.


Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma v. Asda Stores Ltd., Case C-108/01, [2003] E.C.R. I-5121 (ECJ 2003)